The field of this invention is novel substituted phosphonic acid compounds and their use as antimicrobial agents.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,039,702 discloses an .alpha.-halo-.beta.-(substituted)thio-acrylonitrile of the formula: ##STR2## wherein X is a halogen and R is a lower alkyl, aryl, aralkyl, heterocyclo, or a thiocarbonyl group. This compound is taught to be useful as an effective antimicrobial agent.
The desirability of identifying or discovering new antimicrobial agents is widely recognized. New antimicrobial agents are desired for several reasons: these include, but are not limited to, responding to the problem created by the development of microbe strains resistant to known antimicrobials, the occurrence of undesirable interactions of certain known antimicrobials with the medium or product in which the antimicrobial is used, and high toxicity of certain known antimicrobials to certain non-target organisms such as mammals.
The present invention solves these problems by disclosing a new compound which may be employed as an antimicrobial.